Birth defects may influence the risk of childhood cancer development through a variety of mechanisms. The rarity of both birth defects and childhood cancers makes it challenging to study these associations, particularly for the very rare instances of each. To address this limitation, the authors conducted a record linkage-based cohort study among Texas children born between 1996 and 2005. Birth...

BACKGROUND The main objective was to investigate the burden of birth defects among alive infants and explore the impact of maternal lifestyle during pregnancy on the burden of birth defects in Northwest China. METHODS A stratified multi-stage sampling method was used to study infants born during 2010-2013 (and their mothers) in Shaanxi province of Northwest China. Socio-demographic informatio...

INTRODUCTION The shift in epidemic trends in recent years in Romania shows new problems in regard of HIV vertical transmission, firstly in intravenous drug user's mothers co-infected with hepatitis viruses and with social problems, and secondly the children of young mothers with an old HIV infection and long antiretroviral therapy history. MATERIALS AND METHODS We studied all HIV perinatal ex...

OBJECTIVE Birth defects are an increasing health priority worldwide, and the subject of a major 2010 World Health Assembly Resolution. Excess cancer risk may be an added burden in this vulnerable group of children, but studies to date have provided inconsistent findings. This study assessed the risk for cancer in children and young adolescents with major birth defects. METHODS AND FINDINGS Th...

BACKGROUND A paucity of epidemiologic research exists concerning the co-occurrence of birth defects and mental retardation (MR). Study of this co-occurrence may yield important clues about the causes of both. OBJECTIVE To examine the co-occurrence of birth defects and MR, taking into consideration the type of birth defect, level of MR, co-occurrence of MR with other developmental disabilities...

Few resources are available to guide public health officials in investigations of reported birth defects clusters. The majority of published resources focus on the investigation of cancer and infectious disease clusters and do not address clinical and epidemiologic concerns specific to birth defects research. This document aims to address these concerns, discuss the needs of the affected commun...

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of congenital defects and to investigate their maternal and perinatal associated aspects by reviewing Birth Certificates. METHODS Among all born alive infants from January 2003 to December 2007 in Maternidade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia of São Carlos, Southeast Brazil (12,199 infants), cases were identified as the newborns whose Birth Certificates register...

BACKGROUND Birth defects impose substantial costs on both families and society because of medical, developmental, and special education needs. Caring for children with birth defects also may influence caregiver time and impact the family. However, the economic cost of caregiver time and other impacts on the family has received far less attention than traditional healthcare costs. METHODS This...

Arsenic is a highly dangerous metal that has been linked to a number of adverse health effects in both adults and children, including birth defects. Yet few epidemiologic studies have examined the relationship between arsenic levels in the soil and the risk of birth defects. The purpose of the authors' study was to examine this association among people exposed to environmental pollution in a de...

This study examined 2,006 pregnant women chronically exposed to a range of naturally-occurring concentrations of arsenic in drinking-water in three upazilas in Bangladesh to find out relationships between arsenic exposure and selected reproductive health outcomes. While there was a small but statistically significant association between arsenic exposure and birth-defects (odds ratio=1.005, 95% ...